There are plenty of variations for skin regimens, including the infamous 12-step Korean beauty regimen that was all the rage for a hot minute until people figured out that that might not be the most sustainable routine to incorporate into their daily lives. I follow Beautycounter’s regimen because it’s only 4 steps: Cleanse, Prep, Treat, Protect. You can always add more products in, but these four steps are a really good baseline.

So maybe you got away with eating Taco Bell through college and the occasional spritz of drugstore sunscreen. In my experience, life after 30 is when shit’s just starting to get good! My skin though? Not so much.

After I turned 30, I started looking tired all the time. My undereye circles got darker even when I stayed in all weekend to sleep and watch FRIENDS reruns, I got these weird bumps that didn’t know if they wanted to be pimples or just clogged pores. And no matter how much I lathered on moisturizer, I’d wake up to sad, parched skin. Almost all of my Beautycounter clients echo these same problems. So let me reiterate once again: Girl, it’s not you. It’s them (your 30s). Your 30s are an interesting time for your skin because it’s when you first start to see early signs of aging, but you’re not quite ready to turn into your mother and shop at the same department store makeup counter as her yet.

I get it. The Rejuvenation line is Beautycounter’s anti-aging skin care line, while the Countermatch line is geared toward adequate hydration and age prevention. Blend these two lines together and you get one hell of a skin care routine for your 30s! Check out the morning routine below:

Whether you’re trying a new skin care regimen on for size or you’ve been layering up since Mandy Moore was popular the first time around like I have, knowing which products to apply first can be tricky. And based on what I’ve seen, depending on what you Google or who you talk to, the EXACT order to apply your skin care products might vary slightly, but overall they’re pretty similar. It’s not a perfect science, is what I’ve concluded.

No surprise here but I love BEAUTYCOUNTER’s approach to skin care regimens. They break their regimens down into 4 steps: 1. Cleanse 2. Prep3. Treat4. Protect

This is basically a plug-and-play model, which my overworked brain is all about. Once you know the correct order to apply your skin care products, just customize this 4-step regimen to fit your morning and nighttime routines. Mine looks like this: